tampa ymca personal trainer wearing face covering and blue shirt next to man with golf ball


Y Personal Trainer Anthony Bellapigna and Edward Matura outside the Downtown YMCA where they train. 

Edward Matura came to the Y originally to get in better overall shape but it ended up helping his golf game. 

“I still suck,” Edward jokes, “but I’m getting a lot more power and my posture’s much better so I’ve improved dramatically and we’re building on it.”

Edward has been working with Downtown YMCA Personal Trainer Anthony Bellapigna for about two years. “My doctor told me I had some issues with elevated blood sugar and some things. So, I said it was time to get my act together.”

One day they both discovered they liked the same hobby.

“Once I learned he was into golf we started working more on balance, flexibility - those things associated with golf; not so much telling him how to swing a club or where his grip should be but working on the fitness aspect of it,” Anthony explains. 

Edward went from a 28 handicap to a 16 recently. “I don’t have lessons. I don’t practice during the week. So, I think a lot of it was just him helping me with rotation, with posture, with strength. “Hopefully, one day maybe I’ll get down to a 14 or 13.”

He explains the training he gets can apply to any sport. “It’s more about body movement. It can be applicable to golf, baseball, softball,” Edward says.

Edward likes having the consistency of personal training. “I won’t drive down here unless someone’s waiting. Anthony will mix it up. He’ll keep it interesting. He knows what he’s doing. I don’t.”

Edward also dropped three waist sizes. “The fact that he’s lost waist size but he stays the same weight tells me he’s gaining muscle mass and losing body fat,” Anthony says. 

“I like our routine a lot. I hate cardio. I’m not looking to lose weight but when we do so many giant sets, when we jump from exercise to exercise, hitting all the muscles, but still panting, it’s sort of like he’s fooling me or tricking me into doing cardio but I’m in,” he says. 

The biggest change Anthony has seen is “his willingness to push himself and exercise harder. Now he does it more on his own, increasing more reps without being asked.”

On the golf course, Edward will get asked if he’s taking lessons but “what I get more often than not is ‘great swing.’ And that gives me a lot of pleasure because what that tells me is what we’re doing is working. I’m getting the mechanics. A lot of these guys have been playing for 20 years,” Edward says. “It’s more fun when you’re playing well.” 

Learn more about how Personal and Group Training at the Y can help you break out of a fitness plateau and learn fun, challenging exercises that keep you motivated.